How to Gut & Clean a Sea Bream

Jill KokemullerUpdated February 16, 2017

Sea bream are whitefish which can be prepared in a variety of manners. The sea bream is popular in French and Italian dishes, and is becoming more readily obtainable in other areas. The fish is also sold as dorada or orata. Sea bream are oval-shaped fish that weigh about a pound. Depending on how you wish to prepare and present the fish, you can remove the head and tail or leave them on for decoration.

Grasp the fish by the tail. Using short strokes of the knife, scrape the scales against the grain of the scales, beginning at the tail. Scrape the body until all the scales are removed.

Lay the fish on the cutting board. Using the knife, make a cut down the centre of the belly from head to tail.

Remove the guts from the belly of the sea bream. Scrape the inside of the fish until all the internal parts are removed. Use the knife to cut out the gills, or cut off the head just behind the gills. Cut off the tail. The head and tail can be left on for presentation.

Rinse the fish in cold water, inside and out until the belly is empty and there are no unwanted bits stuck to the sea bream.

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About the Author

Jill Kokemuller has been writing since 2010, with work published in the "Daily Gate City." She spent six years working in a private boarding school, where her focus was English, algebra and geometry. Kokemuller is an authorized substitute teacher and holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Iowa.